Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Ruffian moon manicure tutorial

I've noticed that there is a current trend in "Ruffian Moon" manicures. Creative Nail Design, otherwise known as CND is leading this trend with several variations of this manicure style. I was inspired by these 2 examples:

I do not own this image. Credit to source.

I do not own this image. Credits to source.

So I've decided to create a simple tutorial for creating this stylish look.

If you remember my Channelling Chanel entry, I talked about using french tip guides that can be purchased on Ebay for next to nothing. Well, great news! I've found an even cheaper method that eliminates the shipping time: hole punch reinforcement stickers! They can be found in all news agencies in the stationery section. Now gather them and cut them in half so one ring can be used twice.

Paint your nails a base colour. I wasn't bothered to make the whole thing perfect becase only the bottom of the nails will be seen. I've used 4 coats of Essie Pound Cake at the bottom. It is a light nude that leans towards greige and has a slight pink tinge. I would definitely paint my walls this colour. Looks so refreshing.

As you can see, the tips are not properly painted. This did not affect layering in any way. Apply a quick dry topcoat or wait for as least an hour for the polish to dry properly so that sticking wouldn't ruin the base. Get your semi-ring. Stick it on the palm of your hand to remove the excess stickiness. Stick it onto the bottom of your nail and make sure the semi-ring is stuck firmly to your nail otherwise bleeding will ruin everything.

I applied OPI Dim Sim Plum to the top half of my nail. I got a perfect coverage with 2 coats. I then applied China Glaze Matte Magic Topcoat for an extra twist.

Remove the semi-ring when the top half is almost dried. Check out the final result.

I'm pretty happy with it seeing that this manicure was so quick, easy and cheap to do. Those reinforcement rings would also be perfect manicure guides. Maybe some glitters would spice things up a little more. Go nuts!